Egyptologist Charlotte Booth tells the history of Egypt from 5,000 BC to the modern day by tracing the river Nile, exploring the central role that the Egyptian stretch of the river has held in the lives and cultures of the people living alongside it. For thousands of years Egyptians have been dependant on the river for survival, while also living at the mercy of the river's periodically destructive behavior. Yet without the Nile the ancient Egyptian civilization as we know it would not exist, and today the people of Egypt remain as reliant on this mysterious stretch of water as they ever were. Booth illustrates her historical tour with color and black and white photos and drawings.